Agreement on HFCs could bring ‘largest temperature reduction ever achieved by single agreement’

A global deal to limit the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the battle to combat climate change is a “monumental step forward”, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has said. Photo by Niall Kennedy/a>Air conditioning units mounted on a Hong Kong…» Read more

California, which uses 20 percent of its electricity in supplying water, just passed a law to collect emissions data from water utilities

When most of us think of slowing global warming, we think of reducing car exhaust and power plant emissions — limiting activities that involve combusting fossil fuels. But we rarely draw the connection between the production of energy and another important resource:…» Read more

From making coal great again to ‘cancelling’ the Paris accord, industry analysts say Trump's ideas are farfetched

Donald Trump’s energy agenda — which includes pledges of “complete energy independence,” making coal great again and ditching the Paris climate deal — is drawing bipartisan fire from industry analysts, former members of Congress, and even one coal mogul. All of them,…» Read more

Bayer and Syngenta criticized for secrecy after unpublished research linked high doses of their products to damage to bee colonies

Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research. The research, conducted by Syngenta and…» Read more

New report finds 200 million people exposed to toxic drinking water

In the 2000 biographical film about a legal clerk who brings a major utility company to its knees for poisoning residents of Hinkley, California, Erin Brockovich ended on a Hollywood high note with a $333m settlement from PG&E. But chromium-6 contamination of…» Read more

State’s 800,000 farmworkers will be eligible for time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours of work a week phased in over four years

Farmworkers in California are celebrating this week after governor Jerry Brown signed a new law on Monday entitling them to the same overtime pay as most other hourly workers in the state. Photo by Bob NIchols/USDAMigrant workers harvest corn on Uesugi Farms…» Read more

‘It kills everything’: conservationist warns over threat to other animals

Huddled around their hives, beekeepers around the south-eastern US fear a new threat to their livelihood: a fine mist beaded with neurotoxin, sprayed from the sky by officials at war with mosquitos that carry the Zika virus. Photo by Allagash Brewing Around…» Read more